One pipe steam heating system



`uly 25,` 1939. H; F. MEKOWN I 2,167,336

' ONE PIPE STEAM HEATING sYsTEM v INVENTOR HFA/,e y /cfff/ffan/A/ ATTO RN EY Patented July 25, 1939 PATENT OFFICE oNE PIPE STEAM HEATING SYSTEM Henry F. McKcown, Cedar Grove, N. J., assigner of one-half to Leonard C. Smyth, Glen Ridge,

Application April 14, 1938, Serial No. 201,913

3 Claims.

The general object of my invention is to provide an improved one pipe steam heating system. More specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide a steam heating system of 5' the type in which each radiator of the system receives steam from the boiler and returns water oi condensation through a single pipe, with simple and effective means for independently throttling the steam flows to the different radiators as needed to proportion the heating effects of' the dilierent radiators to the respective heating requirements, Without giving rise to water hammer or other difficulties.

, A regulation ofthe steam supply to one radiator without regard to the rates at which steam is supplied to other regenerators of the system, or modulation, is practically desirable, and has heretofore been practically obtainable, with two pipe stearn heating systems, i. e., systems in which 20 each radiator receives steam through one pipe and discharges water of condensation into another pipe, but has not heretofore been practically obtainable with one pipe heating systems, which are simpler, and less expensive to construct 25 and install, than two pipe heating systems.

A still more specically stated object of the present invention, is to provide a steam heating system 'in which each radiator, or vheat radiating unit, of the system receives'steam from, and

for use in small and moderate sized house 1nstallations. In such an installation, with the steam generating boiler of the system located in the basement, asis usual, the riser pipes for the diierent radiators may be connected within the basement space through their respective throttling devices, which ordinarily will be adjacent the basement ceiling, to a steam supply main connected at one end to the boiler, and connected at its other end inthe usual manner, to return piping within the basement space and ordinarily at a level but little above the Vbasement floor level, the return piping being connected in any usual or suitable manner to the boiler. With this ar- 5-5 rangement, each riser' extends, or has a drain steam heating system is especially well adapted` pipe extension, which extends downward into connection with the return piping.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, its advantages and specificV objects attained with its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matterin which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Of the drawing:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic perspective representation of a portion of a steam heating system;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig, l; and

Fig. 3 is an elevation partly in section of another portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

The one pipe heating system installation illustrated diagrammatically, by way of example, in Fig. l, comprises a boiler furnace A having an upper steam outlet A and a lower water inlet A2. As shown, the steam outlet A is connected to one end of agenerally horizontal steam pipe B cnnected at its other end 'through piping including a vertical pipe portion B tothe boiler water inlet A2. The pipeB may supply steam `to one or more mains C, two being shown in Fig. l. Each main C is generally horizontal, and in a house installation in which the boiler is in a basement having a relativelylow ceiling, each main C may well be close to said ceiling.

Each mainC supplies steam through a plurality of pipe'branches D, each including a throttling device. E, to a corresponding plurality of riser pipes F. Each lriser pipe F is connected at its upper end to an individual radiator, or radiator unit, G org, which receives steam through that riser at a rate determined by the adjustment of the corresponding device E.

In the particular form shown, the throttling device E included in each branch steam supply connection is a gate valve having an inlet passage E inclined at an angle of about 45 'to the horizontal and connected by a correspondingly inclined short nipple C to a T C2 in the main or corresponding main pipe branch C. The outlet passage E2 of the valve E is shown as inclined at a slight angle 5, for example, to the horizontal and threaded to receive a correspondingly inclined pipe section constituting the major portion of the corresponding pipe branch D. As shown, each of said pipe sections is connected at its lower end through an elbow D to one end of a short horizontal pipe, or nipple D2. The latter is connected at its other end to a T F', through which the lower end of the riser F proper is connected to its dependent drain extension j. As shown in Fig. S, the port E3 connecting the passages E' and E2 of the device E, has its axis throttled more or less by a gate E4 which can be vertically adjusted by rotation of a valve operating spindle E5.

Each riser drain pipe extension f is connected at its lower end into the generally horizontal return piping H, which, in the ordinary small house basement installation, is located adjacent the basement iioor level, and is suitably connected to the boiler water inlet A2 as by means of a riser H' connected at its lower end to the piping I-I and at its upper end to the previously mentioned vertical pipe B. Each main C is preferably inclined to the horizontal slightly, so that water of condensation in the main will flow away f'rom the boiler to the end of the'main which is remote from the boiler and is connected to the return piping H through which such water of condensation is returned to the boiler. An automatic air vent I is ordinarily connected to the remote end of the main C.

The particular branch pipe arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is simple and is characterized by the fact that water of condensation forming in Yany portion of the connection between the main and riser will drain freely, and that the only counterow of steam and water of condensation in the connection is confined to the inlet valve passage E and nipple C', each of which is short and sharply inclined downwardly. However, water hammer or other difficulty due to the formation of water of condensation in the individual branch pipe connections, is not to be expected with other forms of branch pipe connection. For example, each branch D may include, and be connected to the main C through, an ordinary globe valve, without serious risk of water hammer or other difficulty due to the collection of water of condensation in any portion of the branch pipe connection As will be apparent, the pipe section D2 and elbow D' forms each swing joint connection between the corresponding inclined pipe branch D and riser F, but it is practically possible to connect each such branch and inclined pipe riser in other known and suitable ways.

The boiler furnace A may be fired and controlled in any usual or suitable manner. As

y shown, the boiler furnace A is heated by the combustion of fluid fuel, which may be oil or gas,

supplied through a feed pipe K, connected to the furnace burner by a regulating device L subject to automatic control by a device M. In the type of house installation illustrated, the device M will ordinarily be the so-called room thermostat, located in the living room, or in some other portion of the house, in which it is especially desirable to maintain a regulated temperature. In the ordinary use of such a heating system, the room thermostat operates to turn on the fuel supply to the boiler furnace, when the room thermostat temperature declines to a predetermined minimum, and to turn off the fuel supply when the room thermostat temperature is a few degrees higher than said minimum.

With the above described system on room thermostat control, the boiler furnace does not supply steam to the radiators during the major portion of each period in which the furnace is not being supplied with fuel, but is adapted to supply steam to each radiator during all or the major portion of each period in which it is supplied with fuel, and at a rate which depends upon the adjustment of the corresponding throttling,

device E, .and is substantially independent of the adjustment of each and every othe.r device E in the system. It is thus practically possible to s adjust the different devices E of a heating system of the form shown in Fig. 1 as to insure the maintenance of the desired temperatures in the rooms served by the different radiators without regard to the actual heating radiating surface of any one of the radiators, provided only that each radiator has enough heat radiating surface for its required heating effect when the corresponding throttling device E is wide open. On changes in the general conditions determining the relative heat requirements of the different radiators, such, for example, as the occurrence of a stormy weather period during which relative heat requirements of rooms served. by different radiators are diiferent from those existing with normal weather conditions, the appropriate temporary throttling device adjustments may be made. In many cases, however, the only adjustments of the devices E required are adjustments made in the initial use of the heating installation to calibrate the heating system, so to speak, so that under usual or normal operating conditions, each radiator of the system will receive the proper amount of steam.

In Fig.'1, each radiator G is located in a lower oor room desirably heated at all times, whereas eachradiator g" is located in an upstairs bedroom, or in some other room which desirably receives no heat during the periods in which the radiators G are receiving heat. To this end, each radiator g is connected to the corresponding riser F through a simple radiator cutoff valve g', whereas each radiator G is advantageously connected to its riser F through .a simple elbow G.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the best form of embodiment of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form o-f the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims, and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I,

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A one pipe heating system comprising a generally horizontal steam supply main, a plurality of radiator supplyconnections, each comprising a riser adapted to supply steam to and receive condensate from a radiator located at a level above said main, a separate pipe connection including a throttling device between each riser and the main, and condensate return piping including a portion connected to and extending downwardly from the lower end of each riser.

2. A one pipe heating system comprising a generally horizontal steam supply main, a plurality of radiator supply connections, each comprising a riser adapted to supply steam to and receive condensate from a radiator located at a level above said main, condensate return piping including a portion connected to and extending downwardly from the lower end of each riser, and a separate pipe connection including an adjustable throttling device between the lower end of each riser and the main, whereby the relative rates at which steam is supplied to the different risers may be regulated by adjustment of said throttling devices, without Variably restricting the return of water of condensation thro-ugh said risers and return pipe portions.

3. A one pipe heating system comprising a generally horizontal steam supply main, adapted to receive steam at one end and to drain water of condensation at its other end, a plurality of radiator supply connections, each comprising a riser adapted to supply steam to and receive condensate from a radiator located at a level above said main, condensate return piping connected to said main at the said other end of the latter, and including a portion connected to and extending downwardly from the lower end of each riser, and a separate pipe connection between the lower end of each riser and said main, each of said pipe connections including a throttling device and being adapted to drain condensate forming in said connection at the inlet and outlet sides of-said device respectively toward 10 'said main .and toward the riser to which said connection is connected.

HENRY F. McKEOWN. 

